The Duke's Passion



836 Gifted with the spirit to lead

"Maxine... this is a royal order. Don't make me repeat myself again."

The Divine Bearers who looked up to Stefan frowned deeply, gazing at the king's back. Stefan already told them to assist everyone, but with the monstrous attack the Kraken had displayed, leaving the king just sounded so ridiculous. Still, if that was what the king ordered, they could only abide.

"As you wished, Your Majesty." Maxine bowed and then cast the rest of the Divine Order a look. She wasn't surprised at the lack of worry in Charlotte, Ramin, and Kristina, because they had been shamelessly and openly opposing Stefan.

Maxine and the rest didn't have their memories before the regression, but it wasn't like anything changed. Unlike Charlotte, Ramin, and Kristina, most of them supported Stefan before the regression. Many of them died fighting for Stefan... and they didn't know that was the very reason Stefan was telling them to leave him.

Stefan didn't want to sacrifice their lives again for him. This time, Stefan promised he would make better decisions and wouldn't sacrifice the lives of those who were loyal to him until the very end. Stefan was probably the only person who could understand Zero because there was a point in Stefan's life he could sacrifice everyone - even this world for his own greed.

'I don't consider this as an act to atone for my sins... Stefan told himself as the people on the ship desert it to assist the other soldiers away. "My sins were far graver and needed to be atoned for a lifetime. However, I learned my lessons and my death ironically opened my eyes that were blinded by jealousy, greed, and fear for many years."

Stefan raised his sword as he kept his focus on the Kraken before him.

"Quentin... how come you had resorted to the same decisions that killed not just both of us but also our comrades?" he wondered, despite knowing he wouldn't get an answer from Zero. The guy wasn't here, after all. "How come... you are still blinded by these things when death offers a clear understanding of the people who mattered and not?"

Stefan and Zero died the same night and almost the same way, after all. That night in South Minowa, they didn't just lose their lives. They lost their people those who were aware of their sins and wickedness but still supported them, regardless, out of loyalty.

How could Zero not have the same enlightenment as Stefan?

That the power they sought and the fear they kept running away from wasn't what truly mattered? But their people's lives weren't worth sacrificing for a meager power.

"But then again, I can't call this meager." Stefan breathed out, assessing the Kraken and the bone-chilling aura it was emanating. "This power to control something so powerful... I wonder what sort of deal you have gained all this?"

Stefan drew a deep breath along with the car-piercing shrick of the Kraken. A powerful gust of wind blew past him, making gigantic waves that rocked the ships and the boats fleeing the scene. When Stefan blinked, the shadow of the monstrous tentacles hovered over him. However, his focus was on the other tentacle that rose along with the one above him.

"Not a chance," he whispered, disappearing from his vantage point.

Five seconds after Stefan fled the ship he was standing on, the ship was split in half as the tentacle landed on it. Meanwhile, Stefan reappeared above a boat, blocking the attack that was about to hit it. Those inside the boat gazed at Stefan's back with wide eyes and gaping mouths, unable to believe how Stefan blocked the attack while mid-air as if Stefan could fly.

"Keep rowing!!" A voice from a distance brought the knights back to their senses, and without thinking twice, they rowed the boat aggressively. Just as they were out of the danger zone, another large wave came from behind the boat, causing them to move faster away from the

arca.

"Keep moving!!" another voice from a distance hollered, and another voice repeated those same words. Soon, everyone in each boat had someone screaming their lungs out, saying, "keep moving!" and "to the coast!"

They chanted those words, reminding everyone they had to flee if they wanted to survive. No one dared look back at Stefan as they gritted their teeth, staring at the coast with fire in their eyes.

"Keep moving!!"

"Don't look back!!"

"To the coast!!!"

The knights let out deep and loud huffs, rowing in sync and using those loud huffs as signals to their movements. Even when an enormous shadow would shade them, they didn't look back or panic. They kept their eyes ahead, especially the Divine Bearers.

The Divine Bearers knew that if they ever look back even once, they would surely change their minds and disobey the king's order. They couldn't do that. Stefan, the king, was risking his life to save his people, which everyone was aware of.

They were the king's soldiers, and yet, the king was the one protecting them. It should be the other way around. Therefore, there was a sense of shame in the soldiers' hearts and gratefulness. No one spoke about it and only chanted the same chant, but deep in their hearts, all of them pledge to be more useful once they were on the land.

They might stand no chance against the Kraken, but on a battlefield against any land monster, they would surely make way for their king.

War.

Once they reached the land, it would be a bloodbath.

Claude glossed his eyes over the people rowing their boat from a distance. Ile could feel the burning desire in their hearts to reach the land and their thick aura that spoke of their morale. 'Aside from Auntie Lilove... there's only one person who could move a person's heart,' he thought, admitting to himself that Stefan had a knack for making people stay loyal to him or fight for him to death. 'I guess this is a good sign since we will need an enthusiastic soldier to clean this land."

Claude raised his gaze over the boats, racing to reach the land. Behind all those boats was a gigantic Kraken and a tiny bit size man battling the former. Stefan would occasionally land on broken wood floating on the ocean for a second before jumping high again. There were times Stefan would land on the Kraken only to slide, but he would only stay for a second so he could jump and stay mid-air.

"It'll be hard for him to keep fighting with that method," murmured Claude after a quick assessment of the battle. "With a limited space to land on, he would soon..."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Claude trailed off when he felt a presence two steps behind him before he heard a familiar

voice.

"Can you slow him down?" asked the person behind Claude. "The space around His Majesty. Can you slow the time around him so he could stay mid-air longer?"

Claude looked back in a hurry to confirm the person behind him. He lifted his eyes at the towering person standing behind him, wide-eyed. There were only two people who Claude considered too tall, and one of them was Rufus. The other one was...

"Uncle Alphonse?"

***

A/N:

Sorry for the lack of updates. The holiday season took most of my time because my siblings came over to spend Christmas with me. It's been a while since I celebrated Christmas, so I focused on being with my family.

Thank you for understanding and I'll update regularly until before New Years's eve because I'll be busy with new year ^^

I hope everyone has a great time this holiday season. Sending virtual hugs and wishes to

everyone!

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